Updated: 32 minutes agoThe entrance and welcome center to the Farm community is seen in Summertown. As one of the early residents of the Farm, a 1970s-era commune in Summertown, Tenn., Holzapfel lived under the same roof with multiple couples and more than a dozen children in a five-bedroom house where everything from the laundry room to meals was shared.The Farm is no longer a commune, although the land is still owned collectively by its residents.
Last year, three-quarters of the country’s housing markets were considered unaffordable, according to Attom, a real estate data company. Homeowners are spending about 35 percent of their income on housing costs on average, far above the 28 percent benchmark to be considered affordable. “I started renting in 2016, and never looked back,” she says, asking her last name not be used for privacy. “Even if I had plenty of money, I don’t think I would want to live here by myself.”
An online search will probably turn up a home-sharing agency near you, often at no cost. The National Shared Housing Resource Center lists about 50 nonprofits. Luke Barnesmoore of Front Porch, a housing nonprofit, says home-sharing is now an essential social service for seniors and workers unable to afford a place to live. “We’re now in the space of homeless prevention,” he said. Americans 50 and older are the fastest-growing age group experiencing homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, accounting for about half of the total homeless population.